Great Alne Station

1876 - 1939

Opening in 1876, Great Alne station, and indeed the line upon which it sat, seems to have largely avoided the
glare of the enthusiast's camera for much of its existence. The station sat on the GWR's Alcester Branch linking their Hatton - Stratford
Branch with the now defunct Midland Railway's Gloucester Loop line South of Redditch. Interestingly, the line closed to passengers in 1917 only
to reopen between 1922/3 but stopping again in 1939 for passenger use, apart from workers' trains to the nearby Castle Maudslay Motor Company's works from
Birmingham. The line closed completely in 1951 with lifting of the track taking place shortly afterwards. Above we see the station on an
undated postcard from fields adjoining Pelham Lane.

Above-left we see a similar view today of the trackside of the station which has since been converted into a
provate dwelling. However, as can be seen, all credit to the owners who have preserved the external structure of the station
as sympathetically as possible, retaining many of its original features. Above-right we are standing on the 'trackbed' at the point where
it crossed Pelham Lane. However, I could not discern whether the line crossed the road via a level crossing or the road bridged the line (I feel
the former is more likely but would be grateful to hear from anyone who could confirm this).

Above-left we have moved around to the front of the station building, onto the B4089, and can see the station house nearest the camera
and further along, from the rather obtrusive garage door, is a bungalow built onto the property following closure of the station itself. For
those of you with a little spare cash, the Station House bungalow is currently for sale for £375,000! The bungalow extends in the
direction of a single-goods siding facility that was also provided at the station. Above-right we are again viewing the front
of the station and can also see that what was a single-storey part of the structure (to the left on the postcard view) has since been raised to form a
two storey extension to the right of this photograph.

Above-left we can see a GWR plaque mounted to the side of the property which helps maintain the railway-feel of the site and
again is credit to the building's owners. Above-right we are back on Pelham Lane watching the trackbed head-off towards Alcester. I was
very surprised to see the structure maintained in such a symapthitic manner after all these years of closure but it is good to know that some
people care about the history of their property which provides an interesting comparison with some other ex-railway properties I have visited during
my travels.